Chapter Ten
Jay sped down the interstate in the patrol car he borrowed while Mike was on the radio with their police captain. The DNA results were a match to Raymond Carson. That, along with the evidence they found at his house, proved he was the guy they were looking for. The one question still nagging him was why now? Jay asked them to find out what facility the man's son was in. He wanted to send someone over to see if Carson had been by there lately. Jay reached in his vest for his phone and tried the fire station again. For some reason, none of his calls were going through there. He'd tried to call Rachel, as well, but no luck there, either.
He was just grateful she was safe at the hospital with Blake, and his sister, Grace, was still out of town and not at the firehouse. He put his phone back in his vest; he'd have to have it checked out soon. Jay slammed the car in park to a stop about a block from the fire station, in front of the perimeter that was set up. The senior officer told them shots were being fired at them when they got any closer to the fire station.
"He's here, Mike. I know it's him," Jay said to his partner.
With the officer's help, they began to pinpoint where the bullets were coming from. There was a five-story apartment complex directly across from the fire station, and Jay's gut told him that was the place. The shooter was there. He knew they should wait for more backup but he wasn't letting him get away again. Mike agreed, and after leaving instructions with the senior officer, they took off. There was an alley behind the apartment building so they could mask their approach. When they walked in the lobby, it was empty. They brought two officers with them for backup and they took the elevator to the top floor.
Jay slowly pushed the door that said roof access open, with his gun in hand. He could hear the bullets being ejected from the gun so he knew he was right. He instructed the two officers to go to the left and he and Mike would approach the shooter from the right. There was no way this bastard was getting away. He could see the man's back as they quietly approached him.
"Freeze! Drop the gun! Nashville Police Department," Jay called out.
The firing stopped and the man turned to face them. He dropped the gun but his right hand was balled in a fist. The man just smiled at them.
"You're too late."
***
"Hey Rach, I'm bored so I'm going to recheck the ambulance," Jaz said to her.
"I'll be out to help in a few," she said back to her.
She wanted to make a fresh pot of coffee, first. She scooped the grounds in the filter and hit the button, when she heard the garage bay doors opened. The ladder truck must be back, she thought to herself. She reached in the cabinet for her favorite Star Wars mug, when she felt the ground shake. Rachel tried to maintain her balance, but the building began collapsing around her. She hit the floor with a thud and did her best to cover her head from the falling debris. She crawled on her hands and knees and sought cover under the kitchen table. Blood began trickling down her face and she tried to wipe it from her eye. But before she could, her world went dark.
***
Jay saw the smoke billowing up from the fire department as Mike was handcuffing Carson. In his right hand was a small detonator. He radioed in to let them know the suspect was in custody and to send help for the firehouse. The task force showed up, moments later, and they handed Carson over to them. Jay took off running out of the apartment building to help with injured. Tommy was the first firefighter he ran into. He was covered in dust but, other than a few small cuts, appeared to be ok.
"Hey, man, how bad is it?" Jay asked him.
"Most of the damage was towards the back office areas, away from us. We just back from a call so we were in the garage bay. We tried to get out, but this asshole kept shooting at us," he said, coughing.
The ambulances and other fire trucks began arriving from other stations to help.
"Hey, Jay, have you seen Rachel?" Tommy asked him.
"She's at the hospital with Blake; I dropped her off this morning."
"No, man. She was at work today. She rode in with me from the hospital. We were shorthanded so Chief called her in."
Jay's legs turned to rubber and he felt like he couldn't breathe.
"Where the hell is she, Tommy?" he yelled and ran towards the building. He had to find Rachel. It took two strong men to hold him back, including the fire chief.
"You can't go in there yet, Jay, it's not stable," the chief told him.
"Rachel's in there!" he yelled at the man.
"We will get her out, I promise. Now, step back and let us do our job."
He felt so lost as he stood there watching the firefighters work. Considering the explosion, most of the fire station appeared to be unaffected, except for the offices and the kitchen/sitting room area. Almost everyone was accounted for, except two office workers and Rachel. One of the other paramedics, Jaz, said Rachel was in the kitchen when bomb went off. They were focusing the search there, now. After what seemed like hours, he heard one of the guys yell that they were bringing someone out. He would recognize that black hair anywhere.
They loaded her into the ambulance, and Jay jumped in the back with them. Her head was wrapped in a huge white bandage and she was covered in blood and dust. The paramedic treating her, Jaz, said she was breathing on her own and that her vitals were good. He reached out to hold her hand but it was covered in cuts, so he placed his hand on her arm, instead. He had to touch her—to assure himself she was alive.
"Open your eyes, baby," he pleaded with her. "Let me see those beautiful brown eyes."
He tried to stay out of Jaz's way but he had to keep touching Rachel. They were turning into the hospital when she opened her eyes. He'd never seen anything more beautiful.
"Hey, baby."
"Jay?" she whispered. "What happened?"
"There was an accident, but you're gonna be fine." He kissed the top of her head.
He did his best to hold onto her while they rolled her in the ER, but they pushed him out of the treatment room. He lifted his hand to push his way back in the room when he felt a hand on his arm.
"Let them work on her; she's in good hands, big brother."
Jay turned to see his baby sister standing there with his new brother-in-law.
"Gracie?" He pulled her into a fierce hug. "How did you get here?" he asked, wiping the wetness from his eyes.
"You know what a stubborn woman your sister is, man. She couldn't stay away, so we caught a non-stop flight," Zach told him as he ushered them to the waiting room. "The chief called me and filled me in, so we came straight here."
"Our girl's going to be fine," Grace tried to reassure him.
"She's as tough as your sister," Zach said, taking a seat beside his sister and putting his arm around her.
Marriage was good for her. They both looked so relaxed and happy. He realized, right then, he wanted that with Rachel. Hell, he needed it with her. Never in his life had he even contemplated it, but she changed that. He wasn't stupid enough to think it would all be easy but, with Rach, it would be worth fighting for it. He would do his best to be the man she needed him to be. His sister gave him an odd look then smiled at him.
"It's about time."
"What do you mean about time?"
"That you admit to yourself how much you love Rach."
Before he could answer his sister, the doctor came in. Jay stood up and nervously wiped his hands on his pants. It was the same ER doctor who had treated Blake.
"She had a severe concussion and a few cuts and bruises. We want to keep her a few days for observation, but she should make a full recovery."
Jay almost dropped to his knees with relief. He shook the doctor's hand and thanked him.
"Can I see her?" he asked.
"We are waiting to move her to a room now, but you can go back there and sit with her," the doctor told him.
"Go ahead; we will wait here," Grace said, hugging him.
He followed the doctor through the trauma doors and opened the curtain he pointed to. Rachel looked so small on that bed. Her head was bandaged and so were her hands. They'd cleaned the dust off her and he could see the bruises pelting her body. Her eyes were closed but, when he sat beside her, she opened them.
"Jay?" she whispered groggily.
"You scared the hell out of me, baby." He leaned over and gave her an easy kiss on the lips. "Don't ever do that to me again, okay?"
"I'm fine; just a little headache is all," she told him, reaching up to touch his face with her bandaged hands.
"I love you so much, Rach."
"I love you, too, Jay."
"Stay with me?" she asked as her eyes were drifting closed.
"I'm not going anywhere, baby. Rest."